Weather Resistant Roofing Plate

Abstract

A roofing plate has a body with a fastener hole extending from a top to a bottom. The body defines an outer periphery with rounded edges and the top edge of the fastener hole has rounded edges. The plate may be molded from a polymer material. The plate has an impact surface area and rounded edges sufficiently large to protect against membrane puncture from a projectile under very severe hail or similar conditions.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A roofing plate comprising:
 a solid body defining a fastener opening from a top surface to a bottom surface, wherein   the solid body has rounded edges.   
     
     
         2 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein the fastener opening comprises a main section and a counterbore section having a greater diameter than the main section. 
     
     
         3 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein the top of the counterbore section has a rounded upper periphery. 
     
     
         4 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom of the counterbore section has a rounded inner periphery. 
     
     
         5 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein the plate is formed from a polymer material. 
     
     
         6 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein the plate has a rounded outer peripheral edge. 
     
     
         7 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein an IBS area defined as an area of the roofing plate that contacts a 2-inch diameter coaxial sphere (impact surface) is above 0.108 in 2 . 
     
     
         8 . The roofing plate of  claim 7 , wherein a radius of curvature at the impact surface is greater than 0.051 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein an IBS area defined as an area of the roofing plate that contacts a 2-inch diameter coaxial sphere (impact surface) is within an approximate range of 0.100 in 2  to 0.400 in 2 . 
     
     
         10 . The roofing plate of  claim 9 , wherein a radius of curvature at the impact surface is within an approximate range of 0.040 inches to 0.150 inches. 
     
     
         11 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom surface of the plate includes a plurality of downwardly extending teeth. 
     
     
         12 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein the bottom surface of the plate does not include any downwardly extending teeth. 
     
     
         13 . The roofing plate of  claim 1 , wherein the plate is rated for Very Severe Hail (VSH) under Factory Mutual standards. 
     
     
         14 . The roofing plate of  claim 3 , wherein the counterbore section has a rounded bottom inner edge. 
     
     
         15 . A roofing assembly, comprising:
 a roofing substructure;   a flat roofing element above the roofing substructure;   a roofing plate above the roofing element;   a fluid impermeable membrane above the roofing plate; and   a fastener extending through a bore in the roofing plate, through the roofing element, and embedded into at least a portion of the roofing substructure to fix the roofing plate in place, wherein   the roofing plate has no vertices.   
     
     
         16 . The roofing assembly of  claim 15 , comprising an underlying membrane between the roofing plate and the roofing element. 
     
     
         17 . The roofing assembly of  claim 15 , wherein
 the fastener bore includes a primary bore section and a counterbore section having a greater diameter than the primary bore section, and   the counterbore section has a rounded upper peripheral edge.   
     
     
         18 . The roofing assembly of  claim 17 , wherein the counterbore section has a rounded bottom inner edge. 
     
     
         19 . The roofing assembly of  claim 7 , wherein an IBS area defined as an area of the roofing plate that contacts a 2-inch diameter coaxial sphere is above 0.108 in 2 . 
     
     
         20 . A roofing plate comprising:
 a polymer body defining a fastener opening from a top surface to a bottom surface and having an upper counterbore section with a diameter greater than a diameter of a lower primary bore section, wherein   the solid body defines an outer periphery with rounded edges,   the counterbore section has a top with a rounded upper periphery,   the counterbore section has a bottom inner edge that is rounded, and   an IBS area defined as an area of the roofing plate that contacts a 2-inch diameter coaxial sphere (impact surface) is within an approximate range of 0.100 in 2  to 0.400 in 2 .